Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Books read Oct 2015

My Review:

Vacationland by Nat GoodaleWanted to read this book for a few reasons; it's about lobstering off the coast of Maine and sounded like a good read.It
was so much more than that! I am from an island off the coast and know
exactly what the author means when it comes to dealing with the
offislanders in your own way.It's the code and they must abide by
the rules. Newcomers come to live on the island and want things to go
according to their new rules. Makes the whole concept of living on an
island the opposite. you go there to get away from the mainland, noise,
hubbub, etc.They want to change it all. Donny is the local
lobsterman and what I liked about him was that he uses his hands to do
his career. Love all the real technical words for parts of his boat,
traps, etc. He has many obstacles in life: a new girlfriend, another
lobsterman trying to fish on top of his own traps and the new neighbors
who don't like much about him and his living area.Each of the others
get alternating chapters during the book so you're kept abreast of
what's going on from their perspective. Past years are detailed that
help with the missing pieces of the puzzle.It all comes to a head
one day and Shelly, his girl finds out things that make her put things
into action. Never expected what happened next and the plan as it takes
form. Just when you think you know how it will end, there's more twists
and turns.Hadn't expected the romance scenes either but were most
welcome. Super read, all around, action, adventure, mysteries, romance,
travel, everyday work of a lobsterman. Can't wait to read more from this
author! Loved all the new things I learned in this book about
lobstering and surroundings that matter when you're on the water.I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

My Review:

Snow deer and cocoa cheer by Joanne DeMaio
Wanted to read this book because I've read all the other works by the author and they just keep getting better and better.
Book starts out with Jane March and she's making her special Christmas greeting cards with added New England magic.
She's
at her mother's farmhouse with a broken left arm while she's still able
to design her Christmas cards with her right arm. She needs to get in
the holiday spirit to continue to work.
Story also follows Wes
Davis, he's the mailman and he runs into Jane when hand delivering her
mail. He had no idea her arm was in a sling. He just wants to get his
mailrun done, his schedule.
He's to be married in several
weeks...his brother is Jane's orthopedic doctor. He soon learns she has
called it off and he plans to go to CA during the holiday season, to
avoid all the questions about the break up.
Jane's mother may have
the solution to her design block and gives her a list of things to do
to get her in the holiday mood. Wes can help drive her.
Love
hearing of the event on The Green and new words-that I actually look up
online. Love learning new things and about others careers.
Whittling
sounds like one would need a lot of patience, as in designing greeting
cards. Precious scene with Wes's hands and Jane's on top showing and
feeling how to whittle. Seems both parents are gearing their kids up to
follow in their footsteps, in their own way. Love the time Wes shares
daily with his dad, priceless!
Love how they help out one another
for each of their businesses. So many scenes are revisited from past
books by the author. If you've never read them you can still catch up
with the events that take place: boat parade is one of my favorites.
A keeper! This story puts me in the mood to want to decorate this year, thanks!
I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

My Review:

Saga of Santa Claus by M. D. Couturier
How Santa came about. It all started in a kingdom...
Valdor is born to the king and queen and he's a horrid child growing up treating others terrible.
His
parents soon die and he's now the king and thwarts his superiority
around. One day he is removed from the throne and he pleads for another
chance to be good to others.
Odin has turned him into a yule goat
and will be given the job of going to the North Pole, living in a cave
and delivering coins to all the children at Yule time for 12 years. A
snow fairy pairs up with him and helps.
He travels to the snow
fairy kingdom to learn how the coins are made. In their travels he
meets a little girl but the following year he doesn't visit her. He
finds out what happened years later but she died because the king didn't
give them food.
He reflects on his life to make things better for
the world...other things that happen around the holiday are also
discussed that we take for granted in our time.
Liked this book
because it was easy to follow along and would make a good addition to
the regular the night before Christmas when reading with a child.
I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

My Review:

Shadow Shifters Book 2 The Light Of Noon By J.B. ThomasBack to the warehouse where the group is researching the powers....Loved hearing what color witches do what spells and about their powers.Calibrated
devices are having some strange results...memory extraction techniques
sound so intense as there are many aspects to it.Whether the
procedure will work is another story....different rules for different
dimensions... can the species work together or is the world doomed as we
know it?Things really heat up and they must escalate to the next level-getting the government involved=can this possibly even work?Fast
paced action found listening to this a better experience but reread the
print version to get an even closer look at the fine points.Felt like I got a better handle on what was happening in this series and can't wait to read the next one.book 3 should be another super read!

Trouble by Olivia MyersWas invited to read this and post reviews and looked at the synopsis and thought it'd be a good fit for the books I do read.Starts
out with Duke who runs his own bar, Shotguns. Alexi walks in surveying
the place and heads to the bar where Duke is. She wants the job of
waitress.She is trying to prove that she can complete college and
not use any of her daddy's money. The story is fast paced and colorful
and imaginative with what they have.There are physical attractions
to one another and we learn of Duke's story and about the business.
Liked learning about rock climbing and some new words, which I look up
to make sure I fully understand them.Steamy hot sex scene but
neither of them want to do a repeat. Lexi is a business major and he
just may have the solution of his problems. With such detailed
descriptions you can play the scenes in your head, as if you were right
there. Free book at the end of this.Another book is included: along with an excerpt of yet another book. .“Pleasure In The Stars” by Olivia Myers.This story is about a trip 3 women take to another planet. for pleasure. Everything pleasurable is at their fingertips.Men from all over, even aliens are there to experience pleasure. The women work at a travel agency and Nat has never traveled. Maybe the other women can teach her how to relax and enjoy herself. Hot and steamy!I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

Brother Charlie by Isaac St. Laurent
Something triggered in me to want to request this book and I'm glad I won a copy.
I't's
a book about Charlie who is a toddler and he's always asking his mom to
pay attention to him: playing toys, reading books, cuddling.
With
the new baby she is not able to get a chance and Charlie sits down and
looks at the baby and learns what it is he needs to do.
Very colorful photos, good for a child to read to show them love comes in many forms. So simple but so powerful.
I received this book from The Book Club Network (bookfun.org) in exchange for my honest review

Pecan Pie and Deadly Lies by Nancy Naigle
This book starts out following Kasey and her son at a parade before Jake heads off to kindergarten in the next few days.
Her
sister Riley is visiting and will return to celebrate Kasey's birthday.
Kasey's husband Nick died in the war. She has started to see the
sheriff Scott but there's no sparks, they remain friends and she hopes
he sees it as such. Jake was kidnapped once and Kasey's not gotten over
it yet.
Story also follows Cody, a country western singer on the road and he plans to catch up with Kasey as they've remained friends.
He
sometimes tires of being on the road... the band buses land at Kasey's
due to the hurricane coming up the coast so they have time to spend with
her. She's a photographer and heading up to Arty's party.
Lots of twists and turns in this book but easy to follow.
The
buses head back home as the commercial in TX has been cancelled. Kasey
works on a spreadsheet timeline of events that happened and Cody is to
fill in his section for the lawyer, her bffs husband, Von.
Kasey
spends a few days at his house near Nashville and the thing I like most
is Cody is down to earth with his possessions. A lap pool in his house,
zipline from the top of the hill to the outside pool. His expansive
ranch. Always wanted to go zip lining and it's on my to do list,
someday.
He doesn't flaunt his things in front of others. Love how her photography and that of friends help solve the case.
Understand the meaning of the title now, you won't find out til the end...
I received this book from a contest I won.

Julia's Daughters by Colleen Faulkner
Wanted to read this book because I liked the story line.
Starts
out with Julia, the mother and she's remembering things that happened
47 days prior. her middle daughter had died in a car crash, caused by
her eldest daughter.
Her bff Laney has talked to her, try to get her out of bed, all Julia still does is cry over her daughter's death.
Alternating
chapters and Next we hear from is Haley, the eldest daughter and she's
just been expelled from HS. Julia has to pick her up and find out why
she's been expelled and figure out what to do.
She is married to
Ben but he's been drifting away from her since the death. Julia needs to
get back to work and get her life going in a forward motion, not dwell
on the past.
Like the idea of the alternating chapters with the
people involved so you can hear different angles to the same scene.
Things start to get back to normal for Julia but things for Haley
escalate out of control that the parents have to make a choice about her
life.
What really appealed to me was the drive from CA to
ME-where Laney is. I love hearing of new places that I may never get to
visit but can read about through the author's eyes as if I'm right
there.
It's a time for mother and daughter to bond, Julia and
Haley. Chapters from Izzy the youngest daughter also as she deals with
the loss of her sister.
Difficult book to get through when you've
had family loss yourself but it's a healing process that takes others
more time to deal with.
Julia has such hard decisions to make
after she wakes up and you hope she makes the right ones along the way.
Really like the ending because their story could be easily continued in
the next book, in a series.
I received this book from The Kennsington Books in exchange for my honest review.

Superfoods
Desserts: 40 Quick & Easy Cooking, Gluten-Free Cooking, Wheat
Free Diet, Whole Foods Diet, Dessert & Sweets Cooking, Weight
Loss Maintenance, ... Cooking (Superfoods Today Book 18)
Colorful pictures with each recipe, no nutritional information but healthy otherwise. Easy instructions to follow and cook time.
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end. Lots of really good recipes from basic fruits that we have on hand.

52 Date Ideas Under $20: (Date Ideas, Cheap Date Ideas, Inexpensive Date Ideas)
Great idea book, starts out with categories of the types of dates you want. inside, food, outside, etc
We will often have a mystery date night where one or the other plans the meal, place, etc.
We have done many of these already, got a few new ones to try out. Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

Healthy Weight Loss - Here's the Deal (Here's the Deal - Healthy Weight Loss and Fat Burning Over 40 Book 1
Author opens up with a correlation between stuff and your weight. Organize your space and it will help with your weight as well.
DEAL is described in detail for the plan of action to work. Many components make this plan work.
Recipes included and other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

Life Without the BS: Rants, Raves and Other Crazy Stuff
Comical stories of different subjects: dating, marijuana usage, guns, tv watching.
fast food and big gulp ban, marriage rituals in other countries, religion and an honest politician.
Snips about upcoming elections and the candidates, money and having kids, retirement and death.
Each chapter comes with a quote from usually someone famous.
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

Kids
Halloween Stories + Halloween Jokes: Spooky Halloween Ghost Stories and
Short Stories for Kids (Halloween Short Stories for Kids)
Three free ebooks at the start of this book. 5 different short stories about Halloween and also pages of fun silly jokes.
Also coloring pages are available along with list of other works by the author.
Stories aren't terribly scary.

Children's
Books: THE WITCH'S BIG NIGHT (Very Funny, Rhyming Bedtime Story/Picture
Book for Beginner Readers About Halloween and Kindness, Ages 2-8)
Colorful
children's book about Halloween. Along the same lines as the night
before Christmas, this one is also a rhyming book about the Halloween
celebrations.
The witch is the one expected tonight, with treats
for all. Everybody is frightened of the witch passing out tricks or
treats. One is able to trick the witch into doing good things...
Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.
.

Animal Family Portraits
Colorful children's book showing groups of animals and what the pair creates.
Silly combinations. A pitbull and a Opposum - chihuahua puppy

Webster's Bedtime (Webster Technology Books)
Children's
colorful book about Webster. He doesn't like to go to bed, but stays up
all hours of the night to play with technology toys.
The toys do
want him to go to sleep because they are very tried. The toys explain
that they must be powered down and Webster can help them with that.
Problem
is other noises are soon heard, SO silly and I laughed so hard at
this. Other works along the line of Webster are highlighted at the end.

Grandparents' Day
Colorful
children's book about a girl who has her grandmother at her house. They
don't get to see each other often so the girl treasures every minute
she gets to spend with her.
Starting out with breakfast the girl
is late waking up as the grandmother has the meal made. The girl
realizes she is not being called by her name but her mothers. She also
goes to
help the grandfather with his socks and shoes. She
recalls the grip her grandfather had on her arm as they walked to get
the mail, now he grips onto her arm for support to get the mail.
Other books by the author are highlighted at the end.

Pumpkin Recipes the ultimate guide
This book is broken up by categories: bread and breakfast, desserts, pasta and salads, savory and soup dishes.
Each recipe comes with prep time, cook time, servings and ingredients and how to put the dish together and bake.
There
are no pictures and no nutritional information. Some of the recipes
appear to be healthy as far as ingredients go, and you should be able to
substitute by using liquid eggs also.

The last hurrah by Edwin O'Connor
Newspaper worker watching the polls and attending meetings that the politicians are speaking at as they run for mayor.
Others
around town show up when the candidates are speaking about the town
issues. After the heart attack the mans son comes to find out what
happened and how others saw things occuring.

101 Puzzle Quizzes (Interactive Puzzlebook for E-readers)
Interesting
puzzles you can view through your pc or tablet. Lots of math and shapes
and they give you the item and when you guess the answer it will take
you to the page and tell you if you are correct or not.
Some are very difficult.

Daddy by Danielle Steel
This
book is about George, Oliver and Benjamin, 3 generations of one family,
are all learning to cope with their struggles in life.
Their spouses: one is dying, another is heading off to college and one is expecting a baby.
Moments
of joy and some tragedies as the twists and turns in this book leave
you wondering what will happen next to each of them.
Lots of travel and much more loving.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Coming Up For Air by Patti Callahan Henry
Story
starts out with Elle and she's very busy even with her daughter now in
college, her husband busy at work and golfing with her dad.
Her
mother keeps her busy with committees, etc til the day she just dies.
Story goes back in time where we learn of her mother's younger years.
Another
story that comes to light is that of the artists in the family and
names given to each of the only girl child of each generation.
She
finds it hard once she discovers her mother's journals and she strives
to find out the truth. She had left her true love to marry another and
Elle is at a loss as to who it is.
She travels with her friend
Sadie back to the summer house to find more clues and answers. Like
where all the artistry talk is about, gardens and flowers also.
I received this book from a contest I won.

No Greater Love by Danielle Steel
Edwina
Winfield has survived the Titanic sinking, taking her parents and
fiance and leaving her with brothers and sisters to raise.
Story
follows her as they land in NYC and make their way to San Francisco,
take over her father's newspaper business. Problem is brother in law has
told those in SF to sell the house, they'd be moving to London to live
with them.
At 20 she put her life on hold to raise all the
kids....story tells of each of the other 5 that she raises and their
problems along the way...
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Basic Book Binding
Wanted to read this as I like everything about printing. Worked in the field in my younger days but just the printed word.
Would have loved to see how the book binding is done, maybe at the village they will run a series.
Starts out with the tools of the trade and explains step by step instructions on how to bind a book by hand.
Lots of suggestions and tips along the way. VERY detailed.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

The best Christmas by Lee Kingman
Erky is not sure why he's so happy with Christmas coming.
Cold winds and cold air with sky dark with one star. Reminds him of the star on his tree, he hopes for the best one ever.
Baking,
decorations throughout the house but he knows something is wrong when
he enters the house. Stone barge is late and Matty is not there.
Love
the idea of mittens on Christmas morning with dime in each and candy
cane. Mother says it's too much trouble to get a tree, especially with
Matty not home.
She tells them what Christmas is all about and starts up her knitting, she's got the spirit again.
Matty always brought bigger gifts home...maybe he can make the bigger gifts for the kids this year....
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Robert B. Parker's The Devil Wins by Cameron
Love
this series that is set in Paradise, MA near the coast. Jesse Stone has
just started a new investigation when they find a recent dead man.
Problem
is the clearing the debris around the first murder leads to two girls
who were killed over 20 years ago. The ring one wears tells them who
they are.
Female relationships are interrupted with calls from ex wife...other cases are investigated that also lead to the current one...
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Murder in merino, a Seaside Knitters mystery by Sally Goldenbaum
Have read the others in this series and have enjoyed them. Sea Harbor, MA and it's autumn.
Julia
Aimsley has come to town, a writer and she meets Ben, who hosts the
weekly Friday feast with townsfolk along with his wife Cass.
Others in town are trying to plan their 40th wedding anniversary party but they just want quick drink and appetizer one night.
Lots
of things going on with the others in town. One gets murdered and
those at the yarn store start questioning others and bringing clues to
those investigating to try to figure out who killed the man.
Love how this one takes us back 20 years and there are some around that can answer those hard questions.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Fine Things by Danielle Steel
Bernie
starts out as a jock in high school, goes to college, avoids the draft
and ends up in a clothing store-the owner loves his ideas.
Years
later and relationships later we find him living on the west coast
running another store. He first sees the little girl and falls in love
with her, then meets the mother and they start a relationship, get
married months later
and move to NY where she finds out she is pregnant. As the story goes on we find out Liz back story and her ex husband.
He
still travels to Milan and other countries for the fashion designs for
the store. The ex reurfaces and Liz ends up with cancer...
Life
spirals out of control when the twists and turns stop. So much heart
break. They move on and things take a turn, like how book got its name.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

The forgotten helper, a Christmas story by Lorrie Moore
One elf is left behind at a bad girls house. He must make her be good or Santa won't stop by to pick him up next year.
The
elf is grouchy and didn't help watch the reindeer. For the year he
comes up with a plan where others help him make her happy again.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

The trouble with Christmas by Debbie Mason
Real
estate agent Madison is sent to Christmas, CO to get rid of the
negotiations for the remake of the town, thus making the bosses son lose
the deal.
Sheriff McBride wants to get the town back on track as
he also doesn't want the town turned into a million people visiting each
year, making local places close to make way for big box stores.
Lots
of drama as the townsfolk want the big picture to come to life...Gage
rubs Madison and wrong way and vice versa as they are thrown together
often.
They want her to stay for a week to understand their town and her boss agrees. Lots of twists and turns....
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Bringing home the bad boy by Jessica Lemmon
Tattoo artist Evan and his son return to their hometown. He's lost his wife, been 4 years and he hopes to heal.
His
wifes BFF welcomes them home...Aunt Charlie. Story goes back in time to
when Ray had died and how hard things were for Evan to hold it
together.
Story follows him as he's thinking of her and her body
when he's hanging out with the bad boys. Also follows her and her
girlfriends as they talk about him and other bad boys of town.
Lots
of hot steamy sexual scenes. Few characters, easy to keep track of.
Love their choice of careers and learning about how they do their jobs.
Circumstances draw them apart and bring them together til a health emergency... Recipes included.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews
Love this authors other works and know this will be a great one also.
Interior
designer Keeley Murdock finds her groom to be with her maid of honor
and she throws a hissy fit and calls off the wedding.
Will Mahoney needs a decorator for his new mansion. He also owns the mill where they manufacturer woman's bras.
The ex's family runs the bank and they are making the clients stop dealing with the Murdocks.
Keeley
and her aunt take the job of redoing the mansion, bring it back to what
it once was, The owner is putting it all together for a woman he saw on
TV, that he wants to make his wife and have her move to his town.
She confronts the wife to be to find out her colors, interests, etc. Interesting facts about bra making.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Fixer Upper by mary Kay Andrews
Have read many of the authors works and have enjoyed the books.
This
book starts out with her losing her job and her boss being investigated
by the FBI. Dempsey relies on her father and he's agreed to fund her at
a recent relatives passing and he's learned he owns the house, south of
Atlanta.
She travels there and assumes she will be fixing up the
place and flipping it til her next job comes through. The house has a
relative who's a squatter but it's is very disrepair shape.
The
townsfolk know all about her and her life, and family. Reporters track
her down at her new location about her troubles with the law. The local
lawyer will be handling her case. She's only a lobbyist, not a lawyer.
Her
lawyer has her come up with a timeline to help figure things out-this
is when we learn all about the trip she had scheduled for a client,
using her credit card. The feds want her to wear a wire, meet her old
boss and have him speak as to what happened, to clear her name.
Book also follows Keeley and others trying to find out what happened to her mother...
Lots of action as she finally agrees to wear the wire and meet him... Book comes with recipes of food they make during the book.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Zoo Day
Brilliantly
colorful children's book about their day at the zoo. They see some
common animals and some not so common. My favorite was the flamingo as
it took up many pages of information.
All the animals had their
own pages where it states what they do and sometimes with a strange part
of their body. Very good learning tool.
Other books by the author are highlighted at the end.

Freezer:
Freezer Cooking Cookbook. Healthy Freezer Meals For Every Kitchen!:
(freezer cookbook, freezer meals cookbook, freezer recipes, freezer
meals ... freezer meals quick and easy Book 1
Great ideas of
making food in abundance then freezing and labeling and taking out what
you need for a meal at a later point in time.
No pictures, no
nutritional information and all ingredients are listed in grams. Some
English items I don't think my store even carries.

Seafood Recipes: Top 50 Most Delicious & Highly Popular Seafood Recipes
Offer
of other books available from the author. Great pictures accompany each
recipe, along with list of ingredients, how long it will take and
serving size. No nutritional information and some of the
recipes
contain quite a bit of fat, more than in our new lifestyle. Most
recipes you should be able to substitute for a healthier choice.
Seafood dinner would be our selection.

Essential Home Remedies: Staying Healthy With Simple, Natural Home Remedies From The Pantry And The Garden
Found
this book interesting to read but leery of trying any of the recipes
myself. Lots of information about different herbs and spices and other
plants and what they will help with what ails you.
Right combination in some can lead to more problems.

Rocks
and Minerals for Kids - Fun Facts & Pictures About Crystals and
Gemstones, Geology & Much More (geology book)
Very
interesting facts about rocks and minerals around the world. Fun facts
about them along with photos of places that have them.
Especially liked seeing US monuments.

Incredibly Delicious Casserole Recipes from the Mediterranean Region (Healthy Cookbook Series 2)
Cookbook using lean cuts of meat with Mediterranean style recipes. No pictures and no nutritional information.
Does state how many the dish will serve. Chicken and rice casserole would be our choice to make.

Baking Recipes for Kids: Quick and easy Cakes, Desserts, Slices and Snacks that Kids love to eat and help to make
Cookbook that would appeal to kids, it has recipes for them to make. No photos, no nutritional information.
Has list of ingredients, detailed instructions how to make and bake, no serving amounts.
Appears to be an English cookbook so some ingredients might be hard to locate in the US.
Carrot cake would be our favorite to try.

Dump
Dinners: 101 Easy, Delicious And Healthy Meals Put Together In 30
Minutes or Less! (dump dinners, dump dinner recipes, crockpot recipes,
dump dinners ... recipes, healthy recipes, healthy cooking)
Good ideas for meals, no photos, no nutritional information, no servings per recipe.
Has
detailed list of ingredients and how to make and bake. Most of the
meals are made with condensed soup which has lots of sodium in them,
which is not healthy for our lifestyle.
Other books by the author are highlighted at the end.

Living
Off The Grid And Loving It: 40 Creative Ways To Living A Stress Free
And Self-Sustaining Lifestyle (Simple Living Book 14)
Plan ahead and decide how much off the grid you want to live. Many methods and plans are discussed.
Like compost ones and other recycling ideas as you can do them now. Wind and solar power you might have to save up to do.
Not sure I'd be ever able to live off the grid as I rely on my pc for reading and contacting publishers for more books.
We already grow some of our own vegetables and preserve them for the winter months.
Other books by the author are highlighted at the end.

DIY Gifts In Jars: 30 Simple, Delicious, Inexpensive Gifts in Jars Recipes
Very detailed instructions on how to make up the jars and with the ingredients so the recipient can make a treat.
The
cookie section tells you how to layer the ingredients in the jar so
it's appealing and attaching a note of what they need to add to it.
No nutritional information and no photos. Pumpkin bread and carrot cake sounds the most healthiest.
Lots of good ideas for the holiday. Other works by the author are highlighted.

Let's Go Find The White Squirrel! (Squirrels - Rare Animal Series Book 2)
Children's colorful book about a rare animal, the white squirrel. Each section has a different suggestion once you see one.
Lots of ideas on how to find the squirrel, gives you hints of where to look.
Silliest of all is giving them a bubble bath, in your tub! Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.

Folly Beach by Karen White
Emmie
had lost Ben and seeks a calm place to live. Lulu makes bottles for the
bottle tree, just outside of the bookstore. The bottles catch the bad
spirits so they don't go into the houses.
Story also follows
Maggie and Lulu along with Kat whose lost her husband in the war. They
are selling the bookstore also. Love hearing of the sand dollar legend,
have heard it before but still beautiful.
Emmie rents the cottage in SC as Maggie is retiring from the bookstore and her nephew is fixing up the place.
She
hopes to also find out about the notes written in older books that were
sent to her mothers store. She plans to buy the bookstore....
Confusing
at times as there are two storeis, one in 1942 and another in 2009 and
it involves some people from both. Like the mystery and history parts of
this book.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

The Maine Mutiny by Donald Bain and Jessica Fletcher
3 day lobster festival and one reporter is trying to advertise with her report, problem is no lobsterman wants to talk....
Craft show,beauty pageant and feast of lobster but there is a murder.. Books starts out with her stranded on Spencer's boat
and
she's been hit over the head and doesn't recall why she's there...
story goes back 2 weeks to tell us how she got there. She did accompany a
lobsterman out on his daily chores on the boat
and she's able to see the rules they all have come to light, also the drastic competition and price wars.
Sabotage occurs with many of the lobsterman and the clues are there for others to collect and figure out who is the culprit.

I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Friction by Sandra Brown
Texas rancher Crawford Hunt thought it might not go his way today. He hopes to get custody of Georgia, his little girl.
The
gunman enters Judge Holly's courtroom and shoots the court bailiff and
Crawford throws the judge on the floor covering his body to protect her.
Others hit the floor as the gunman approaches and he is able to throw
him off by hitting him in the knee.
He flees and Crawford follows
him after taking bailiffs gun and is able to find him on the roof where
others are there but he ends up dead.
Crawford and Holly do meet
later the next day and the unthinkable happens and they talk to discover
it wasn't the real gunman who died.
Their romantic encounter throws her off guard and avoids him...
Action and adventure along with smokey hot sex scenes and more plots all come to a head...
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

After Birth by Elisa Albert

A new mother is trying to find a balance, the new child and family.
Story
of a woman who's not found her zen after giving birth. Lives in a
college town and works at the co op where they sell fresh vegetables.
She feels out of sorts and friends the neighbors who turn her back onto marijuana which makes her feel more calm and settled.
Relationships she has with other females and talk about Jewish religion.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Woman, Food and Desire, embrace your cravings, make peace with food, reclaim your body by allison jamison
Understand cravings and how to listen to your body, especially about your perception of your body to others.
Love
types of women she comes up with as she nailed m perfectly! Liked
tapping, Pilates and a bit of detox-not just food but hateful
relationships.
Never realized the association with having sex played such a large part of your body image.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Vacationland by Nat Goodale
Wanted to read this book for a few reasons; it's about lobstering off the coast of Maine and sounded like a good read.
It
was so much more than that! I am from an island off the coast and know
exactly what the author means when it comes to dealing with the
offislanders in your own way.
It's the code and they must abide by
the rules. Newcomers come to live on the island and want things to go
according to their new rules. Makes the whole concept of living on an
island the opposite. you go there to get away from the mainland, noise,
hubbub, etc.
They want to change it all. Donny is the local
lobsterman and what I liked about him was that he uses his hands to do
his career. Love all the real technical words for parts of his boat,
traps, etc. He has many obstacles in life: a new girlfriend, another
lobsterman trying to fish on top of his own traps and the new neighbors
who don't like much about him and his living area.
Each of the
others get alternating chapters during the book so you're kept abreast
of what's going on from their perspective. Past years are detailed that
help with the missing pieces of the puzzle.
It all comes to a head
one day and Shelly, his girl finds out things that make her put things
into action. Never expected what happened next and the plan as it takes
form. Just when you think you know how it will end, there's more twists
and turns.
Hadn't expected the romance scenes either but were most
welcome. Super read, all around, action, adventure, mysteries, romance,
travel, everyday work of a lobsterman. Can't wait to read more from
this author! Loved all the new things I learned in this book about
lobstering and surroundings that matter when you're on the water.
I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

Chocolate Sweet Science and Dark Secrets of the worlds favorite treat by Kay Friedenboard
History, science and culture make chocolate an important part of all our lives.
Liked learning of the history and science behind it all as we have experienced Hershey in PA ourselves.
Book
also includes many recipes using chocolate. Liked the story of the
first strike by kids in Canada when the price rose from 5 cents to 8
cents.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Lonesome Cowboy by Frank Lowe
Wanted to read this book because it's about the options a man has.
This
is a story of Kyle who is on the road with his father where they sing
duets, hoping to make it big in the country western music field.
They've
traveled to many venues and land at Wunderland where they are taken
seriously. Problem is his father becomes ill and Kyle must continue the
show without him.
He finds out later just how serious the medical
emergency is and then he has many choices to make. He has to make a
living for him and his father, and there are many other secrets and
mysteries along the way.
In the business they meet many who've
helped them along the way, as more horrid details are revealed as to the
past and what it means for him and the family.
Kyle hopes he is
making the right choices as he tries to reinvent his life without his
father along for him. Many opportunities arise and I liked the travel
and the circumstances.
Especially like the lawyer language and how
they are able to keep what is theirs. Interesting how things turn out
in the end, didn't see it coming.
Seems another book in the series
where this one leaves off. Enjoyed the read but would've really liked
it with romance as this is my main reading genre. Good story line.
I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

The Saturday big tent wedding party by Alexander McCall Smith
Just going through my shelves of books and ran into this one that I hadn't read yet. A female detective agency book.
In
this one there is a lot going on: cows have been killed, pregnant bride
runs away, missing van is seen. Interesting how the women collect the
clues
and how they come by them, by chance sometimes. Like how
some just need to shop for shoes or just take a walk til the clues
become clear.
Lots of clues when you ask the right people...too predictable.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

your moon, my moon a grandmother's words to a far away child by Patricia MacLaughlin
Audio
book about a grandmother as she tells her grandchild of things that she
lives near and how the child has the same things, but opposite due to
where they live.
Love the differences as this is a book my grandson would relate to as we are on the east coast and they are on the west coast.
One thing they share is the moon they each see.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

What is the names of stars and constellations by Peter Limburg
Different stories from different countries and centuries tell of different legends that others lived by in their own times.
Correlations to the mythical Gods and zodiac signs.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Let's go to a stock exchange by Gordon V Axon
Jackie
and Graham visit an exchange and show them around. Basic things are
discussed to give the kids an idea of what it's all about.
They are writing an article for the school newspaper. Easy to understand when told to a child!
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

The Secret Pool by Betty Neels
Harlequin
audio book about Francesca who is a nurse in a small town where there
are many wards as other nurses train for the bigger city hospital.
She
lives with the aunts and cousins til one day a doctor has noticed her
and takes her for a ride to meet his daughter Lisa. She is a very sick
child and her one wish is for her daddy to wed.
He talks Fran into
marrying him, he's very rich and money is no object for her to take a
sabbatical. His daughter has only a short time left so she agrees to
marry him and get the marriage annulled after she's passed away.
She didn't expect to fall in love with the child and with him.. Set in Holland there is not much about the country.
Too predictable, no twists or turns.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).